Nervous Symptoms Are Unseen

Nervous symptoms seem catastrophic to the person experiencing them, even if the audience may never register their existence. What about trembling hands and knees? Squeaky voice? Dry mouth? Rapid heartbeat? Speakers have a tendency to feel like freaks of nature and that everyone watching thinks the same. Of course, this only occurs because all these symptoms happen to the speaker. However, in reality, the vast majority of nervous symptoms tend to go completely unseen by the audience. Unless a particular audience member shares a close proximity with the speaker, then odds are, the audience spends most of their time directing their focus on listening to the message. After all, few people (if any) participating as audience members attend speeches with the purpose of seeing if they can detect a speaker’s nervous symptoms.

Often, novice speakers will also apologize for their nerves, feeling as though the audience finds the manifestation of such symptoms distracting. However, apologizing only draws attention to symptoms that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Additionally, apologizing for nervous behaviors might compound the anxiety and make it worse.